In my application, I have a table of entities - in this case, the individual offices of a member organization. One entity - one office - has to be marked as the 'main' office, or headquarters.
It would be simplest if the user could set a main office within the table, rather than open each office's details form. A user needs to decide between several offices, so it makes sense that she be able to see all of them (and their details) when she makes her choice. I need a way for users to mark one entry in the table as the 'preferred' choice, then.
However, I'm unaware of any common patterns that do this. I have seen radio buttons in vertical formation, but not in tables (most radio buttons in tables are part of a horizontal series). Is there any common and intuitive pattern for selecting a single entry in a table?
The only design I can think of is an 'empty' column with the header 'HQ'. If the user clicks a cell, that row is chosen, and the cell takes either the text 'HQ' or a symbol that's suitable in the domain (perhaps a building symbol). Are there any better choices?
Also, on a more general note, are vertical 'radio button'-like selections a good idea in the first place? Or do users prefer to choose from a horizontal selection?